| Value | % Change | |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | $846,000 | +0.3% |
| Liabilities | $358,000 | +0.1% |
| Net worth | $487,000 | +0.5% |
I expected this month to be another negative net worth performance after several of my share market trades went against me however it actually turned into quite a good result because I saved a significant amount of my wage. In recent months the share market has driven my net worth performance far more than any effort I could muster on the savings front however this month was much more 'normal' if somewhat under-whelming.
I had targeted a net worth of $490,000 for this month and although it was somewhat disappointing not to have gotten to this mark, month to month movements are not what I am particularly focused on. I still think that $500,000 by the end of the financial year (June 2014) is achievable however the $550,000 goal I had set last year is definitely out of my reach now.
Below I have outlined some of the factors which impacted my share price performance this month:
Positive factors
- Significant savings towards my short term goals
- At the start of this year I outlined what some of my big financial goals were
- These required a significant amount of savings and I have been putting away for these targets every month
- The downside to this is that I know that these are not long term savings and that my net worth is going to take an almighty hit once I have to spend the cash
- Currently I have ~$10,000 saved towards these short term goals
- Continued savings in my employee share plan and superannuation
- I have said it before but am willing to say it again - the automatic nature of my employee share plan as well as superannuation continues to keep my savings ticking upwards regardless of what else is happening in my life
- I have always been a little bit baffled by the "pay yourself first" concept that so many people espouse but this is really a way of making that a reality
Negative factors
- A negative share market return
- I recently posted about how my decision not to sell my FKP shares before they released their results had hurt me a fair bit. This pain continued and my whole portfolio return was impacted by the share price performance this stock
- The higher Australian dollar also impacted the performance of my US based index funds
- A significantly higher credit card bill and lower cash balance
- My credit card bill was $600 higher and my cash balance ~$900 lower than in the previous period
- I had previously signalled that March is a perennially expensive month for me with birthdays and anniversaries and this turned out to affect the amount I spent quite significantly (I'll provide more details about this in my expenditure tracker)
This was not a particularly noticeable month one way or another. My ability to move the dial meaningfully with my current wage is limited and so this is what I will be tackling next. I am currently focused on starting a business (you may have noticed that I have been posting less) in order to tackle income line of the income / expenses / savings equation. I do not think this is going to have a short term impact - in fact if I have any business income by the next net worth update I will be surprised. Therefore my goals will remain relatively muted and I am hoping for a net worth of $490,000 next month.
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